News Main Menu

climatology

climatology

It's a river of wind, usually about 200 miles wide and about two miles deep, that flows about five to seven miles above the earth's surface, says climatologist Paul Knight. What most people don't realize is that the jet stream is the major player in how our weather changes.

In 1969 Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, the Woodstock festival changed music and perhaps the culture forever, Sesame Street debuted on television and Richard Nixon became president. The first quarter of that year was also the only one in Pennsylvania since 1895 drier than the start of 2009, according to Penn State weather and precipitation experts.

If it seems like this winter has brought more ice storms than normal, there's a good reason, according to Penn State weather experts. It really has. According to Paul Knight, Pennsylvania state climatologist, the Keystone State feels the effect of 12 to 18 winter storms during a typical winter. Of those storms, only two or three would normally produce widespread icy conditions. "Many parts of Pennsylvania have already exceeded their usual number of icing events for a year, and the winter is not even half over," he says. "There is no doubt that the frequency of freezing rain during December and so far in January is unusual, particularly for the central part of the state."

April showers supposedly bring May flowers. But what will spring bring this year, after what seemed to be an unusually wet winter? Paul Knight, Pennsylvania state climatologist and manager of Penn State Weather Communications Group, differentiates past winters to the most recent and discusses how this may impact the spring and summer weather.

As anyone who's been caught in a downpour without an umbrella knows, predicting the weather is no simple task. This is especially true of long-term forecasting. Yet since 1818, the Farmers' Almanac—published annually from its Lewiston, Maine offices—has been trying to do just that for the continental United States. Can you really predict the weather a year from now?

When the sun was out and low in the sky, Todd Sowers remembers, standing on the summit was an amazing experience. His goose-down swaddled form, and the similarly bulky shapes of his colleagues, would cast their shadows hundreds of meters down, to the stark landscape of the Bolivian altiplano below. Not that he had much time to contemplate such magnificent vistas. Sunny days were particularly precious on Nevado Sajama, not least because in order to penetrate the mountain's icy cap Sowers and the others were using a solar-powered drill.